WET PLATE CAMERA SEARCH

My primary interest is in wet plate, or indeed any cameras made by Richard Wheeler Thomas1823-1897. Mr Thomas was Photographic Chemist whose business was at 10 Pall Mall London.
I have found, according to R C Smiths "Antique Cameras". That in 1889 Thomas was granted a patent for the Jumelle camera. In the 1885 BJPA they have a page of advertising including Thomas's Bellows Body Camera, the improved Kinnear or Conical Bellows Camera. Thomas's Landscape camera for dry plates, and a complete set of apparatus for dry plate work.
I have yet however to find a physical instance of any one of these. In particular I am keen to find another of Thomas's improved Kinnear or conical camera. I own such a camera as shown below. This is a Wet Plate whole Plate camera having the label " R.W.Thomas Manufacturer 10 Pall mall London". The Camera has the facility for both landscape and portrait format by means of a rotating back. It is of superb construction with many hand cut dovetail joints and all of the many reinforcements and fittings being inset, as is practically all of the brass ware.

Mr Thomas was a remarkable man, famous for his "Pall Mall Plates" reputed to have earned him £2000 per annum. He is frequently mentioned in the correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot, was associated with Nicholaas Henneman (Photographer to the Queen,). also with Sir John Herschel (astronomer) whose portrait he took for inclusion in Sir John Bowrings' book " The Decimal System in Numbers Coins and Accounts". He wrote the book "The Modern Practice of Photography" which I would highly recommend to purists of the wet plate revival. The language though flowery as of the time, gives clear and precise easy to follow instruction.
In 1883 he wrote an article in the "Art Journal" on Photography in Rome. He had a full page advertisement in the "Golden book of India" listing many of his items. There was also a full page advert in the 1862 London Exhibition Catalogue. His sale of Pall Mall Plates were so popular that he built a factory in Parchmore Road Thornton Heath soley for their production.

All of this and yet Alas! I have yet to find another instance of this or any camera made by him despite a thorough search of most of the important collections. Should anyone out there have, or know of, any camera made by R.W. Thomas, then I would be pleased to hear of it and can be contacted as follows.

george_rcolclough@hotmail.com